Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
PRESS STATEMENT ON NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION SUMMIT TO BE HELD IN GAUTENG FROM 10 - 12 NOVEMBER 1998
A National Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by the government will be held in Gauteng from 10 - 12 November 1998. Representatives from all sectors of South African society will be invited to attend. Over 200 delegates are expected from all over the country, the private sector, organisations of civil society, labour, religious organisations and academics.
The Ministries of Justice, Safety and Security, Public Service and Administration, and Constitutional Development and Local Government will host the summit. The Public Service Commission serves as the Organising Secretariat and is supported by an organising committee.
The summit forms part of a comprehensive programme against corruption which has been developed in terms of an October 1997 decision of the Cabinet. The programme includes the improvement of investigation and prosecution of corruption, the rationalisation of the agencies combatting corruption, review of the legislation, steps to improve management systems and discipline at all levels of government, protection of whistle-blowers and witnesses, and a national campaign based on concrete issues. The summit will launch this national campaign. The summit will contribute to the development of a National Integrity Strategy, and aims to:
- Create a common understanding of all the aspects of corruption.
- Obtain a commitment from all stakeholders to effectively combat corruption.
- Contribute to the establishment of effective and coordinated anti-corruption structures.
- Provide guidelines for the anti-corruption programme.
- Make recommendations to the review of anti-corruption legislation.
- Send a clear message that government and all other role-players will not tolerate corruption and will respond harshly to it where it occurs.
- The Organising Committee has proposed the following areas for discussion at the summit:
- Promoting good governance, transparency and accountability
- Keeping local government and municipal services delivery clean.
- Procurement and financial management in the public sector.
- The role of business in preventing and combatting corruption in the private sector and as the other half of public sector corruption.
- How organised labour can deal with corruption among its members.
- Rebuilding public morality in our society.
- The role of political and other leaders in setting an example.
The summit will avoid becoming a "talk shop" by engaging with the practicalities of the problems in panel discussions and workshops, including:
- Real case studies
- Sharing perspectives on common issues such as government procurement, the criminal justice system and local government service delivery
- Proposing practical solutions to these problems
International speakers from countries which have been successful in combatting corruption, particularly in Africa, are being invited, as well as local speakers.
Pre-summit conferences are being organized to allow sectors of society to prepare concrete inputs to the summit, and all sectors will be encouraged to hold these preparatory meetings.
President Mandela has committed the country to a clean and corruption-free administration. He has committed the government and the country to restoring social values which are hostile to criminal and anti-social behaviour.
The Deputy President has also attacked the pervasive corruption of society and the individual, and he called on the nation to defy corrupt practices.
Corruption cannot be detached from the legacies of the past and the widespread disintegration of moral integrity which they caused. Our increased exposure to globalization has also brought the attendant risks of greater exposure to organized crime, drugs and corruption in business.
The summit is intended to mobilize all sectors of society into an effective and truly national campaign against corruption.
South Africa also agreed to host the next Transparency International (TI) Conference which will bring world experts and representatives of many countries to South Africa to give inputs in preventing and combating corruption. This Conference will be organized by the South African chapter of TI in conjunction with the SA government. There will be an announcement of the international Conference soon.
Issued by: Joel Netshitenzhe on behalf of Government Cape Town
26 August 1998